Early morning is a time of magic in Cannery Row. In the gray time after the light has come and before the sun has risen, the Row seems to hang suspended out of time in a silvery light. The street lights go out, and the weeds are brilliant green. The corrugated iron of the canneries glows with the pearly lucence of platinum or gold pewter. No automobiles are running then. The street is silent of progress and business. And the rush and drag of the waves can be heard as they splash in among the piles of the canneries. It is a time of great peace, a deserted time, a little era of rest.
The charming style of gifted Californian writer John Steinbeck from his acclaimed novel Cannery Row (1945). Winner of the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1962, the literary titan also wrote other masterpieces such as Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden.
Alex Raphael 
An excellent author
One of the all time greats. A huge fan. I read Tortilla Flat a few months ago and you can see how he had evolved as a writer. Just a joy to read.
Of Mice and Men is one of my all-time favourites. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes. Yea omen of mine too. I linked Of Mice and Men in the description. It’s one of the best novellas ever. Cannery Row is a charming book. Very funny and the characters and the setting are wonderfully described.
So good!
Yes. The book is largely about the characters but this description just reminded me of the beauty of language and imagery when in the hands of a master.
So true. I’ve always been amazed at the abilities of the truly gifted artists, whether they work with words, oils, or cinema.
Indeed. And if they were all alive today you would feel confident that the greats would still be as creative today.
I’m always taken aback by his talent. I look at his sentences – those are the same words I use – but his mastery of language is breathtaking in a way.
He truly had a gift for writing. Would love to see his museum in California. One of the most important writers of the 20th century.